What our life has been like...Part 1

I must say that I was surprised to receive so many comments on my last post, thank you all so much!

The Lord has been so good to us, He is faithful in all things just as He promises in His word. Patrick lost his job about a month before our wedding and has not been able to find a good steady job since, yet the Lord is our provider and He has never failed us. Time and again we have wondered how He would provide for our next need only to see His hand move in a mighty way. Our dear Heavenly Father is taking us through a trial of faith that we might be more conformed to the image of His son, Jesus Christ. What a wonderful thing to know that whatever He takes us through it is that we might be more like Him for His glory, this is the joy of our journey.

 O to be like Thee! blessed Redeemer;
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I'll forfeit all of earth's treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

O to be like Thee! O to be like Thee!
Blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
  Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

O to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wand'ring sinners to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer, others to save.

Our Lord has promised that He will never leave us or forsake us, we are His children and the sheep of His pasture, He cares, oh so tenderly He cares for His own. When I have times of doubt the Lord points me back to Matthew chapter six. What comfort is to be found in those precious words of our Lord Jesus!

“Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? Or, What shall we drink? Or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek;) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matt. 6:31-33)

We took a trip up to Wisconsin in June to get my dog Abby and some of my things as well as visit with the family. 

 It was wonderful to see everyone again!

We brought back tomato and pepper plants that I had started back in April, which we were able to plant along with beans and a few other things. It was a smaller garden, but a great blessing. It is so much fun to work the soil and care for the plants, then later to harvest and can. This time was especially fun as I worked alongside my husband! 

 We had to harvest the tomatoes while they were yet green because of caterpillars attacking them.

There are no words to explain the blessing and joy of having a godly, loving husband! When I think back over all the years that I prayed for him, hoping that he existed, I can see so clearly now how the Lord was answering those prayers. I used to think that maybe I was asking too much when I told the Lord what kind of a man I wanted for my husband. I thought maybe I would have to settle for less than what I prayed for, then after more prayer I realized that I did not want to marry a man who was not what I was asking for. So I began to think that I would never get married, since it seemed impossible that such a wonderful, godly young man existed. Please allow me to tell you that the Lord answered far above what I could ask or think! Patrick is so much more than what I asked for, daily I am brought before the Lord with thanksgiving for creating me for such a wonderful man!

Forgotten Blog?

No, I did not forget I had a blog, though it may appear that way! We have just been far too busy with garden work over here, and finally it is all in...almost, there is a little more to do... oh well, if I think about it, gardening is never really done until winter comes in force, and even then we are often canning tomatoes into December. :-) I am very thankful to the Lord for good weather, we have had several days now that are in the 80s and that is great for the garden!

We celebrated Father's Day by planting potatoes together, Michael barbecued chicken and I baked a chocolate cake...Happy Father's Day Daddy!

My brother Michael turned twenty...Happy Birthday Michael! Wow, that is hard to believe!

I gave away the kitten I was keeping "Hope" because her temperament did not work for our family and I am now keeping a kitten who seems to fit much better into our family.

This is Jenny

We also received our meat bird chicks in the mail, or I should say my Mom's chicks since she does all the work with them, and it is a whole lot of work!



Here are some random pictures:

I love where we live!

Beautiful storm cloud

The Sunset illuminating that storm cloud.


My dog, Abby

Praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the Lord from the heavens: praise him in the heights. Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts. Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise ye him all ye stars of light. Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens. Let them praise the name of the Lord: for he commanded, and they were created." Psalms 148:1-5

An Update on Happenings Here

I have been busy, busy, busy, with transplanting tomatoes and herbs and studying Spanish. The plants are going from their seedling soil-less mix to potting dirt and there are a lot that need to be transplanted. I have way too many tomato plants and herbs this year, so I hope to sell some at our local farmers market. I have begun to study Spanish in earnest and that is taking up most of my computer time, but I love it.
Here are some recent pictures, first in the "growing room":

In the foreground are cabbage seedlings.

Out side we have some things growing happily:

Garlic, planted in the fall.


Peas


Pepper Mint
and
Chocolate Mint
I love this stuff, it really tastes like chocolate mint!


Daffodils
and...

Kittens! This is Maria.

Mother's day was a fun day as we had my sister and her four children over. There were three mothers to celebrate! I decided to forget about being an adult for a while and played with the children...it is 1841 and we are pioneers out west, we have finally arrived at the place we wish to settle. There are no cars, planes, phones or computers. Sorry, no flame-throwers either! Oh no, lookout here come some Indians! Actually, we can't understand their language, if we want to trade with them we will have to make them understand by signs....you get the idea, we had fun. :-)

The three Mothers!

The three Stooges..oops, I mean Devin, Ashely and Brittany. :-)

and Matthew
in Grandpa's truck. He is taller than me now!

On Tuesday last week we were out at the abortion clinic bright and early as normal. It had been especially impressed upon us to make sure we share the gospel as we talk to the mothers, pleading for their babies lives. It is wonderful to open our mouths in praises to God as we stand on the streets. We sing hymns, read the Bible, pass out gospel tracts and pray, pray, pray, while we wait for the mothers to come. Spiritually, it is a lot of work! This Tuesday my Mom talked to one mother who said that she was "undecided" about getting the abortion. My Mom talked to her about her baby and told her that God has created her and He has created her baby. She asked this lady what she would say to God when she stands before Him to give an account of what she did to her own child. My Mom asked if she could pray for her, to the which she agreed and afterward gave my Mom a big hug and left the area. A little later we saw her drive away and she smiled and waved at us! We praise God for this life spared from the pains of death and pray that He will draw this dear lady to Himself for salvation.

As we were preparing to leave, a young mother and her mother came out of the building smiling and crying (this is always a good sign!). When asked if they had changed their mind, they said Yes! Praise God again! This young mother said that she was not sure what made her do it, but she asked to see her ultra-sound and changed her mind when she saw her baby. They were both so excited, the Grandma of the baby said, "he looks like me!" and "we're going to have a baby!" They were very happy to receive the gift of a diaper bag with baby things and a $100 gift certificate, (we try to give these gift to all those who tell us they have changed their mind). We also gave them a Bible and gospel tract and my Mom was able to share the gospel with them.

You should have seen us after all this happened, we were so excited and praising God! What a joyful time that was, but it was damped by the thought of the seven other mothers who did not come out.

Later on that same Tuesday we went to UMD to hold gospel signs and pass out gospel tracts. There were several good conversations that took place, we pray that God will turn the hearts of these young people to Himself. Steve brought his two daughters Amoriah (3) and Maylea (almost 2) and they helped pass out tracts as well. People enjoy taking tracts from these adorable little girls. Though we were saddened to see how many young women would harden their heart and turn away from that little out-stretched hand. This is most likely because they have had an abortion, since the statistics show 1 out of 3 woman in the US have had an abortion.

Here is part of the crew, my Mom is taking the picture and Josh was somewhere else.

Yesterday abortions were done again and there were thirteen mothers who went in. None said they changed their mind but one did leave early. One pedestrian passing by on the sidewalk began yelling at my Mom. She was very angry that we talk to the mothers who are going to kill their children, she kept saying "I see how things are, you are in your own little box and don't see what is happening." This made my Mom call to mind John 9:39-41, so she asked, "You say you see?" The lady answered "Yes, I see!" My Mom said, "So, you are blind." The lady soon left, but this was a sad reminder of the state many people are in. They believe themselves capable of sight and reason, but do not know that a veil of blindness is yet over their eyes and heart. Proverbs 28:5 Evil men understand not justice: but they that seek the Lord understand all things.

Today I am meditating on this scripture: "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men..." 2 Corinthians 5:10-11

It hit me that here we are given a very good reason to share the gospel, the terror of the Lord! If we take verse ten seriously, than how much do we have to hate someone to not share the gospel with them?! (in the words of an atheist who said, if the gospel is true than that is what he would ask.) and yet so often I let opportunities slip by without a word. Oh Lord, teach me to have the terror of the Lord!

After an impromptu blog break I say,

"It has been too long since I have posted here!"

The sun is streaming through my window and there are now tiny leaflets on some of the trees, the grass is up enough to make the ground green and birds are everywhere and a few bugs are out. On the warmer nights I enjoy hearing the chorus of the Spring Peepers and the song of the American Woodcocks. We had our first T-storm of the year go by with thunder and lightning, I was jumping up and down I was so excited! I do so love spring!

We planted some cold weather crops in the garden and they are slowly coming up...spinach, radishes, peas and soon carrots. Last falls planting of garlic is growing strong and the strawberry plants look good. In my "growing room" there are tomatoes, peppers, cabbage, broccoli and several different herbs, growing under lights. How kind our Heavenly Father is to give us such good things, to show forth His glory in little things!

All this new life around us, makes me think of the new life God gives to those whom He saves. He said, if anyone be in Christ, they are new creature, old things are passed away and all things are become new. (2Cor. 5:17) This is so true! The sin which we once loved becomes the thing we hate and the righteous things that we once hated, become the things we love. This is the work of God, no one can make this happen of their own accord. God creates within us a clean heart and a love for Him! Praise the Lord Jesus Christ for His atoning sacrifice and triumph over death!

I finally finished crocheting the gift which I had hoped to give my friends at the birth of their son...he is now four months old. Oh well, at least it wasn't infant clothes!

It was such fun to make this and pray for little Jesaias.
(The pillow is just for contrast.)

Here we are when he was a bit younger.


And more recently. You can see that he is growing fast!

My Dad and I built a compost bin together, he cut the boards and pounded the stakes and I nailed it together. We needed it! Behind me in the picture, you can see the pile which served as a compost pile in the past.

It's not beautiful and is crooked (my fault!), but it is serviceable.


My cat Joyce had five kittens, they are so much fun!

Four weeks old.

And for those of you who are curious....here is a picture of a Spring Peeper!

Tiny little things, but they sure can make a lot of noise!

And here is an American Woodcock!

I think these are about the cutest birds I have ever seen! In the evening the males fly very high, fanning their tails in such a way that it makes an ascending sound like...woowoowoowoowoo.

(Neither of these last two pictures are mine.)